A team looking for its third straight state championship leads the 2023-24 Preseason Small Town Top 25 high school basketball rankings. But it's not
Dakota Valley (North Sioux City, S.D.), which has finished on top of the rankings each of the past two years.
Dale (Okla.), which featured a rotation filled with underclassmen last year, starts the season on top of the Small Town Top 25 after winning back-to-back state championships.
Dakota Valley is still in the mix, however, coming in at No. 8. Read on for a complete look at the Preseason Small Town Top 25.
McKennon Lemley and Graford are already 4-0 this season, including a 50-30 win over Huckabay last week. (Photo: Jim Taylor)
1. Dale (Okla.), 32-0 record in 2022-23The Class 2A state champions in Oklahoma last year, there was some speculation that the Pirates might have been the best overall team in the state. With 41 straight wins, Dale returns its top seven players including Small Town All-American
Dayton Forsythe. He averaged 17 points per game last year and has led Dale to back-to-back state titles.
2. Graford (Texas), 37-3The Texas Class 1A state champions lose only one player from last year's team that finished the season with 21 straight wins.
3. Hitchcock (Texas), 31-7Won their final 22 games to capture the Class 3A state championship. Tournament MVP
Damien McDaniel returns along with a pair of 6-foot-5 forwards who also made the all-tournament team,
Lloyd Jones III and
Elijah Sherwood.
4. Lyon County (Eddyville, Ky.), 31-6Kentucky crowns only one champion, so it's difficult for a small town school to win it all. But Lyon County is a good bet to make a run at it behind the play of
Travis Perry. Already the state's all-time leading scorer with 4,357 points, Perry averaged 31.6 points per game as a junior.
5. Lapwai (Idaho), 26-1The Knights fell just short of winning the Class 1A state championship last year, falling 81-79 to Lakeside. However, Lapwai returns
Kase Wynott, who averaged 35.3 points last year and needs 542 points to become the state's all-time leading scorer.
6. Farmville Central (Farmville, N.C.), 30-1The Jaguars finished the season with 20 straight wins and a Class 2A state championship. The top three players from that team return in
Mykal "M.J." Williams,
J.D. Daniels and
Alex Moye.
7. Farmington (Ark.), 21-1Layne Taylor is back for his senior season after earning Small Town All-America honors the past two years. He has 2,404 career points and has led Farmington to a 68-3 record the past two years.
8. Dakota Valley (North Sioux City, S.D.), 26-0Begin the season with a national-best 53 straight wins. The Panthers have finished No. 1 in the Small Town Top 25 two years in a row but will have to make a run at it this time around without Isaac Bruns, last year's Small Town All-America Player of the Year.
9. Ottawa-Glandorf (Ottawa, Ohio), 26-4Division III runner-up returns first team all-state forward
Colin White (21.1 points per game) and all-state honorable mention
Caden Erford (14.1).
10. Raymond (Miss.), 27-7Runner-up in Class 4A last year, Raymond has one of the state's top players in Small Town All-American
E.J. Paymon. He averaged 21 points per game last year and was the Class 4A state player of the year by the state coaches association.
11. Wahoo (Neb.), 24-2Perennial contenders for a state championship, the Warriors were the No. 1 seed in last year's Class C1 state tournament but were upset in the first round by Auburn. Wahoo returns all-state selection
Marcus Glock.
12. New Madrid County Central (New Madrid, Mo.), 25-8The Eagles won the Class 3 state championship last year and return one of the state's top players in Jadis Jones, who averaged over 23 points per game.
13. Plattsburg (Mo.), 31-1Won 30 straight games last year before finishing in third place at the Class 2 state tournament.
Michael "Isaia" Howard returns after earning Class 2 state player of the year honors from the state coaches association while averaging 26 points per game.
14. Central Cass (Casselton, N.D.), 26-0The Squirrels captured the Class B state championship last year and have 26 straight wins to start the 2023-24 season.
Cole Holzer, a 6-foot-8 center, returns for his senior year.
15. Albany (Minn.), 32-1After defeating Minnehaha Academy in the Class 2A state championship, Albany returns a pair of all-tournament juniors in
Sam Hondl and
Ezekial Austin.
16. Booneville (Miss.), 30-2The Blue Devils won the Class 3A state championship and enter this season with 24 straight wins. Booneville has one of the state's top juniors in 6-foot-6
Kedrick Simmons.
17. Hampton (Tenn.), 30-8Won the Class 1A state championship last year and return five of the team's top six scorers from last year.
18. Lipan (Texas), 36-1While the Indians lost their top players from last year's Class 2A state championship team, they are 161-6 since 2018.
19. Jayton (Texas), 32-3The Jaybirds nearly won the Class 1A state championship last year, falling to Graford in overtime. They return sophomore
Sean Stanaland, who earned all-tournament honors as a freshman.
20. Shallowater (Texas), 27-4All-state picks Hayden Buckley and Cooper Lusk return to lead the Mustangs, who reached the Class 3A regional semifinals last year.
21. Ellsworth (Maine), 20-1Chance Mercier earned all-state honors last year after averaging 27.3 points and leading Ellsworth to the Class B state championship game.
22. Hesston (Kan.), 25-1Defending Class 3A state champions are 95-5 over the past four seasons.
23. Benjamin (Texas), 21-2The Mustangs have one of the nation's top returning scorers in junior
Grayson Rigdon, who averaged 40 points per game last year.
24. Lancaster (Va.), 29-0Red Devils return leading scorer
Troy Henderson, who averaged 21.2 points as a sophomore on last year's Class 1 state championship team.
25. County Line (Branch, Ark.), 39-0The Class 1A state champions had one of the nation's longest win streaks last year.
